THE ROMANCE GENRE ALWAYS INVOLVES… LOVE. IT COMES IN MANY FORMS, SUCH AS THE PAIR THAT NEVER COMES TOGETHER UNTIL THE END, THE LOVE TRIANGLE WHERE TWO FIGHT OVER THE SAME PERSON AND THE LOVE SQUARE+ (ANYTHING THAT’S FOUR OR MORE PEOPLE, WHERE EVERYONE IS FICKLE ENOUGH TO SWITCH FEELINGS ON A DIME). NOTE THAT I DO NOT INCLUDE ROM-COM IN HERE, SINCE THE EMPHASIS OF THOSE SHOWS IS THE COMEDY, WHICH IS ALL THE MORE EVIDENT IN THE TONE OF VOICE AND VOCABULARY OF THE CHARACTERS.

USUALLY, WHEN ROMANCE IS THE DEFINING GENRE OF A WORK, THE SERIES WILL HAVE A REALISTIC BUT FICTIONAL SETTING. SO EXCEPT WHEN THE CHARACTERS ARE BLUSHING AND STAMMERING, THIS GENRE IS NOTABLE FOR HAVING THE MOST NATURAL LANGUAGE USE AND VOCABULARY. TO COMPARE TO OTHER GENRES: ACTION IS TOO CHOPPY, COMEDY IS TOO CASUAL, DRAMA IS OVEREMPHASIZED, PSYCHOLOGICAL IS TOO COMPLEX, HISTORY IS TOO ARCHAIC AND OUTDATED AND THE OTHERS ARE TOO TECHNICAL IN THE SENSE THAT THEY USE FICTITIOUS CONCEPTS THAT YOU’LL NEVER NEED TO KNOW IN REAL LIFE.

THIS IS NOTICEABLE ESPECIALLY IN DAILY LIFE SCENES OF REALISTIC FICTION IN THIS GENRE, WHEN CHARACTERS GO THROUGH TYPICAL ROUTINE LIFE AND MAKE NORMAL INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER CHARACTERS. OFTEN TIMES, YOU CAN SLIGHTLY REARRANGE THESE LINES AND THROW THEM INTO YOUR OWN DAILY CONVERSATION. IF YOU CAN ENJOY A ROMANCE, THIS IS DEFINITELY THE BEST GENRE TO STUDY FROM.

NOTABLE ROMANCE ANIME: SUKI-TTE II NAYO, ITAZURA NA KISS, KAICHOU WA MAID-SAMA, EF: A FAIRY TALE OF THE TWO., KARE KANO, ISSHUKAN FRIENDS AND VALKYRIA CHRONICLES.